Heavy or prolonged bleeding. Pelvic pain. Backache. Uncomfortable sex.
These could be symptoms of Uterine Fibroids, an exceedingly common, yet unspoken, condition that affects more than 50 percent of all American women by age 50 – a figure that jumps to 80 percent among African Americans.
In some, this can eventually cause physical distress due to fatigue and loss of energy, as well as emotional distress, both of which can severely affect quality of life. In desperation, a woman succumbs to surrendering her uterus: a.k.a. a hysterectomy.
A whopping 600,000 hysterectomies are performed in the U.S. every year; by the age of 60, more than one in every three women have had one. More perturbing, the most common reason for hysterectomy is fibroids, despite their non-cancerous composition.
While hysterectomy does end a woman’s suffering from fibroids, the price of losing her uterus is often underestimated. Women who undergo hysterectomy can struggle psychologically and sexually. This is above and beyond the risks of “going under the knife” – inherent risks of surgery, risks of general anesthesia, long surgical recovery and days lost from work.
Here is the good news: Fibroids are benign. A simple 10-minute ultrasound is all that’s needed to diagnose fibroids. More importantly, move over, hysterectomy. There are now better and less dramatic treatment options for fibroids.
A treatment option is available that offers women relief of symptoms, enables them to avoid surgery entirely, and allows them to keep their uterus. No, this is not an investigative procedure or a clinical trial. One of the best kept secrets in the treatment of fibroids is Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE).
UFE has been performed for over 20 years, but has languished in relative obscurity despite well-documented, strong medical evidence for both the safety and effectiveness of UFE.
UFE is a minimally invasive treatment option performed by a board-certified vascular interventional radiologist. UFE begins with a tiny pinhole incision in the wrist that provides the physician access to arteries that feed the fibroids via a small catheter (small tube). The catheter delivers nanoparticles to block off blood vessels to the fibroids. Once treated, the microscopic tools are removed and a Band-Aid is applied.
The entire UFE treatment typically lasts less than one hour. You return home the same day and can resume normal activities after a couple of days rest. Almost magically, UFE results in shrinking the unwanted fibroids and yet sparing blood flow and function of the uterus, both important for healthy aging.
So, stop coping with uterine fibroids. Seek help. This is about your uterus. Why not leave here with what you came with?
A hysterectomy should not be a first choice. Choose minimally invasive and modern medicine. UFE can get you back to your life in the least disruptive, fastest way possible. It helps save your uterus, preserve your femininity and improve your quality of life. Start living fibroid-free.
Keith Pereira, MD, is an assistant professor in the Division of Vascular Interventional Radiology at Saint Louis University Hospital.
